A brief outline of the history of libraries

H-

\

SEVENTEENTH

AND

EIGHTEENTH

I UNjVERSITV

JOHN COTTON DANA

AND

HENRY W. KENT

A BRIEF OUTLINE OF

THE HISTORY OF

LIBRARIES

An Edition of two hundred and fifty
copies in this form and one of twenty-
five copies on Large Paper were print-
ed at The Merry mount Press ^ Boston^ in

May, 1907

A BRIEF OUTLINE OF

THE HISTORY OF
LIBRARIES

BY

JUSTUS LIPSIUS

TRANSLATED FROM THE

SECOND EDITION

(ANTWERP, THE PLANTIN PRESS
JOHN MORETUS, 1607)

THE LAST FROM

THE HAND OF THE AUTHOR

BY

JOHN COTTON DANA

I

CHICAGO
C. McCLURG & CO.
MDCCCCVII

COPYRIGHT, A. C. MCCLURG & CO., I907
PUBLISHED, JUNE i, 19O7

D. B. UPDIKE, THE MERRYMOUNT PRESS, BOSTON

NOTE

157377.

INTRODUCTORY NOTE

FEW of the biographers of
Justus Lipsius have devoted
their attention to that part of his
writings which, in an English
translation by John Cotton Dana,
is here offered to lovers of libra-
ries. They have found matters
of greater importance to the
world at large in the chief things
of his life, — his theological, his-
torical and literary writings. Mr.
Peter Bayle, in his famous Gen-
eral Didlionary, which first ap-
peared in 1697, and afterwards
Englished, in 1710, says in this
connexion, as an introduftion to
his own contribution to Lipsius's
biography :

lo Introductory Note
*' I might relate a great many
curious particulars concerning
him ; but as others * have already
collefted them, and have not
even omitted what relates to his
education and his early learning,
I am obliged to confine myself
to such particulars as they have
not mentioned/' These particu-
lars related to one of Lipsius's
greatest faults, for which he was
chiefly censured, — his inconsis-
tency with regard to religious
beliefs, — and they take on anad-
ditional interest when treated by
Bayle, who was himself given

* Teissier, Additions aux Eloges de M,
de Thou, a. 381, 432; Bullart, Acade-
mie des Sciences, ii. 190; Balliet, En-
fans Celebres, 184.

Introductory Note i i
to tasting of religion at all its
different founts. With gossipy
pen, he briefly summarizes the
fa6ls in Lipsius's stormy theo-
logical career, which to a six-
teenth-century mind, and even
to one of the eighteenth cen-
tury, must have seemed as im-
portant as it was chequered.

The theologian of a century or
so ago undoubtedly found that
Lipsius had contributed some-
thing to religious thought, but
to us, in this century of freedom
in such matters, Justus Lipsius
is chiefly a subje6l for antiqua-
rian curiosity, just as he was to
Bayle. It would be idle to spec-
ulate on the present-day value
of his Diva Virgo Hallensis, or

12 Introductory Note
his Diva Sichemiensis, written for
the Jesuits, when late in his hfe
he had accepted the professor-
ship of Latin in the Colegium
Buslidanium at Louvain and had
become, to quote from Bayle,
"a bigot, like a silly woman."
The polite literature which Lip-
sius taught at Louvain, in a man-
ner "very glorious to him," is
quite unread to-day; it is unne-
cessary now when so much po-
lite literature has been, and is
constantly being, added to the
world's carefully shelved stock.
Whatever defeats of matter or
style our writer may have had,
like all the humanists he served
a great purpose in retailing to
further generations — and espe-

Introductory Note 13
daily to librarians — the opinions
of the classic writers on the his-
tory of libraries. It is not for us,
who have received so great a fa-
vour at his hands, to criticise his
scholarship, as some have done,
— as does one writer who says,
speaking of one of his mental
tendencies, *'The other, derived
from his Jesuit training, showed
itself in his merely rhetorical or
verbal view of classical litera-
ture, of which the one interest
lay in its style/' Neither need
we concern ourselves with his
tendency to change his religious
point of view, — now Jesuit, now
Lutheran, now Calvinist, now
Romanist. To Lipsius bibliophiles
owe their thanks because he pub-

14 Introductory Note
lished the first history of libra-
ries, in the modern sense of the
word, — a history which is as
fresh and useful to-day as it was
when it was written. Only a man
of great scholarship could have
written such a story, requiring
the searching of the original au-
thorities in Latin, Greek and
Hebrew, and only the scholar-
ship of the sixteenth century —
careful, conscientious and lei-
surely— could have brought to-
gether all the fafts that Lipsius
did. All of the histories since his
time have borrowed freely from
our author, or, like Edwards,
have used his references for fur-
ther elaboration of their texts.
If, however, but few of his bi-

Introductory Note 15
ographers have devoted them-
selves to a matter which must
have been of no small interest
in Lipsius's life (judging from
his enthusiastic manner of treat-
ing it), one, at least, has done
full justice to it, — a Frenchman,
Etienne Gabriel Peignot, who,
born in Arc-en-Barrios in 1767,
devoted his whole life to the
cause of bibliography. The ac-
count of this scholar written by
Simonnet, in his Essai siir la vie
et les oiivrages de Gabriel Pei-
gnot, 1863, deserves to be on the
shelves of every librarian, cer-
tainly of every bibliographer.

Early in his career Peignot
planned a great bibliographical
work, of which his Manuel Bi-

16 Introductory Note
bliographique , published in 1804,
was a first part, and his Di^iofi-
naire Raisoniie de Bibliologie a
second. The Manual is chiefly
devoted to Lipsius, having for
its opening chapter a life of our
author, followed by a transla-
tion of the Sy?itagma. Peignot
tells us that the plagiarism of
Lipsius by authors who have not
thought it worth their while to
mention their indebtedness to
him was one of the reasons why
he was led to give the Syntagma
the chief place in his own book,
— he wished to secure to this
learned man his just due.

In his "Notice preliminaire sur
Juste Lipse et ses ouvrages'*
Peignot gives a selected list of

Introducto lY Note 1 7
Lipsius's works da :ed from 1599,
wherein it is seen that the book
in which we are interested, J.
Lipsi de Bibliothecis Syntagma,
Antverpiae, came, like all of the
others, '*ex officina Plantiniana,
apudj. Moretum/'*This,tothe
librarian, is a fa 61 worthy of spe-
cial note, because it gives the
evidence of the friendship that
existed between the printer, John
Moretus, son-in-law of the great
Plantin, founder of the house,
" first printerto the king, and the
king of printers, *' and Lipsius,
covering a long period of years.

*E<f. 1. De Bibliothecis Syntagma^
Antwerp, 1602; Ed, 2. Helmstadt,
1620; Ed. 3. Antwerp, 1629. In his
Opera Omnia, 1610-30, 1637, 1675.

i8 Introductory Note
In the house of Christopher
Plantin at Antw erp, now known
as the Plantin-Moretus Museum,
in the room called, since the six-
teenth century , the'' Roomof Jus-
tus Lipsius, "the bust of the friend
of the house looks down from its
place of honour over the en-
trance door. And so, just as Lip-
sius's name is closely linked with
one of the great epochs of print-
ing, it has also a part in the his-
tory of the development of the
library idea. Whatever the fa6ls
concerning his theology, polite
literature or other writings, what-
ever the final vote on the value
of his style, the little traft, here
reprinted, in the hands of friends
of libraries will justify the faith

Introductory Note 19
that Lipsius had in his claim to
fame, when, in hanging a votive
silver pen before an altar of the
Virgin, he wrote:

*'0 Blessed Virgin, this pen, the
interpreter of my mind, which
soared up as high as the sky;
which searched the most hidden
recesses of land and sea ; which
always apphed itself to learning,
prudence and wisdom; which
dared to write a treatise on con-
stancy; which explained civil and
military matters, and such as re-
late to the taking of cities ; which
described, O Rome, thy great-
ness ; which variously illustrated
and cleared up the writings of
the ancients, — that pen is now, O
Blessed Virgin, consecrated to

20 Introductory Note
thee by Lipsius, for by thy as-
sistance have they all been com-
pleted. Let thy kind influence
constantly attend me for the
future; and in return for that
vanishing fame which my pen
gained, vouchsafe to grant, O
Divine Lady,a continual joy and
life to your devoted servant,
Lipsius/' ^^ ^, K,

New Tork^ February, i goy

TRANSLATOR S NOTE

TRANSLATOR'S NOTE

This translation has been made
from the second edition,** the last
from the author's hand/' Ant-
werp, Plan tin Press, John More-
tus, 1602.

The French version by Gabriel
Peignot, in his Manuel Biblio-
gTj/>/ifq'W^,Paris, 1 8oo,wasfound
very helpful in translating Lip-
sius's rather crabbed Latin; I
was greatly aided also by a first
draught of an English translation
kindly made for me by Miss L
McD. Howell, of the Newark,
New Jersey, Free Public Li-
brary. Mr. W. W. Bishop, re-
ference librarian in the library of
Princeton University, gave most

24 Translator's Note
valuable assistance, both on dif-
ficult points in the Latin and on
many historical allusions. I am,
of course, responsible for all er-
I'ors. J. c. D.

Newark^ January, 1907

TO THE READER

TO THE READER

YOU have before you my brief
outline of the history of li-
braries, that is, of books. Where
shall we who are constantly mak-
ing use of books look for a worthier
subje^ for our pen? Tet I never
should have dreamed of writing
this outline had I not been inspired
thereto by the zeal in such mat-
ters of the noble Prince to whom
I have just dedicated it.

That such as he should labour to
encourage a7id inspire men to good
deeds and high endeavour — this I
think a thing most helpful to us
all. And how few do give them-
selves generously to this task! All
thoughts seem now to turn to low

28 To THE Reader
and sordid things. Scorni?ig the
ancient and holy truths, how ea-
gerly to-day do men search out
doctrines whose only charm is that
they seem nezv!

To these one might well repeat
the ancient line: '' Though broad
and well known is the highway,
you choose a ?iarrow and obscure
path/'

For ourselves, we holdfast to
the old and the established; and we
study, we point out the zvay, and
we set forth examples — often,
so I hope and trust, to some use-
ful purpose.

■ And may you, O Gentle Reader,
look with favour upon our work.

A BRIEF OUTLINE OF
THE HISTORY OF LIBRARIES

CHAPTER I

Bibliotheca and Libraria — v:hat do
these words signify ? The Kings of old
had Libraries, especially those of Egypt.

THE word bibliotheca is used
to signify any one of three
things: a place in which books
are kept, a bookcase, or books
themselves. The Greek word,
bibliotheca, came into use among
the Romans. They also used the
word libraria ; but it is more exa6l
to understand by that word a shop
where books are kept for sale.
Colleftions ofhooks, bibliothecae,
date from the earliest days, and,
if I am not mistaken, were es-
tablished as soon as letters were
invented . The art of writing must
have arisen almost as soon as

32 A Brief History
man began to learn and to think ;
and this art would not have been
profitable if books had not been
preserved and arranged for pre-
sent and future use.

At first these colleftions were
private undertakings, each per-
son gathering for himself and
his family ; in the course of time
kings and dynasties took up the
custom and collected books, not
only for use, but also to gratify
their ambition and to add to their
renown. Indeed, it was scarcely
within the power of a private per-
son to colleft many books, since
the process of copying them was
aslowandexpensiveone; though
our lately discovered most use-
ful art of printing has now sim-
plified it.

Of Libraries 33

Osymandyas of Egypt was of
all kings the first, as far as his-
tory shows, to have a library of
any note. Along with other fa-
mous deeds he established, says
Diodorus, a library of sacred lit-
erature, and placed over the en-
trance the inscription: "Here is
Medicinefor theMind/'Though
he was one of the earliest of the
Egyptian kings, I do not doubt
that his example was thereafter
faithfully followed, even if the
library he is said to have found-
ed never in fa6l existed; for in
Egypt there have always been
libraries, especially in temples,
under the care of priests. Many
fa6ls may be cited as evidence
for the truth of this statement,
among others this one about

34 History of Libraries
Homer: a certain Naucrates ac-
cused Homer of plagiarism, and
said that when the latter went to
Egypt he found there the books
of a woman, Phantasia, who had
written the Iliad and the Odyssey
and placed them in the temple
of Vulcan at Memphis; and that
there Homer saw them, appro-
priated them, and published them
as his own. As far as Homer is
concerned I think this story false;
but it establishes the faft in ques-
tion, that it was the custom in
Egypt to have libraries.

CHAPTER II

I'he Alexandrian Library^ of which
Philadelphi/s was the founder and the
chief henefa^or. T^he variety and num-
ber of books in it. Burned^ and restored,

THOUGH other libraries of
Egypt are little known, we
learn that that of Ptolemy Phi-
ladelphus was famous and high-
ly renowned. He was the son
of Ptolemy Lagus, second of the
name and of the line of the Greek
kings of Egypt. Being a patron
of the arts and sciences he was,
of course, a lover of books, and
founded the great library of Al-
exandria, aided by the instruc-
tion and example, perhaps even
by the very books themselves, of
Aristotle. For Aristotle, as I shall

36 A Brief History
note later, had a library which
was remarkable for the num-
ber and excellence of its books.
Speaking of this hbrary, Strabo
says that Aristotle was the first
private colle61:or of books of
whom we have any knowledge,
and that he taught the kings of
Egypt the principles of classifi-
cation.This passage from Strabo,
however, must be read with care
and be properly interpreted ; for
Aristotle was by no means the
first to form a library, and as he
lived before the time of Philadel-
phus, he could not have taught
him, save as I have said, by ex-
ample. Perhaps what Athenaeus
says is true, that Aristotle left
his books to Thcophrastus, he to
Neleus, and that from the latter

Of Libraries 37

Ptolemy bought them , and trans-
ferred them, with others which
he purchased in Athens and
Rhodes, to fair Alexandria. Other
writers, however, do not assent
to this statement, as I shall show
presently. This much is admit-
ted, however, that he founded a
library and colle6led for itbooks
of every kind from all parts of
the world, even seeking out the
sacred books of the Hebrews.
As soon as the fame of the wis-
dom of the Hebrews reached his
ears, he sent and demanded the
books which contained it, and
employed men skilled in such
matters to translate them into
Greek for the common use of
all. This translation was called
the Septuagint from the number

38 A Brief History
of persons who were engaged
in making it. It was made, ac-
cording to Epiphanius, in the
seventeenth year of the reign of
Philadelphus,in the one hundred
and twenty-seventh Olympiad.
Demetrius Phalereus had charge
of this library. He was an exile
from his native Athens, and was
renowned both for his writings
and his works. The King held
him in high esteem and entrusted
to his care the library, and other
matters of even greater impor-
tance.

Philadelphuslikewise collected
books from the Chaldeans, the
Egyptians, and even from the
Romans, and had them translat-
ed into Greek. I quote Georgius
Cedrenus, who says, " Philadel-

Of Libraries 39

phus had the sacred books of
the Chaldeans, Egyptians, and
Romans, as well as some in
other languages, to the number
of a hundred thousand volumes,
translated into Greek, and placed
them in his library at Alexan-
dria. ' ' I note especially two things
in this quotation: first, the dili-
gence shown in translating into
the common tongue books in
foreign languages, — a very use-
ful custom in my opinion and
one which should be adopted
to-day by you, O Princes ; and
second, the statement as to the
number of books. This number
is very large, it is true, but not
large enough if it is meant to in-
clude all the books in the library.
I think it was not so meant ; but

40 A Brief History
that Cedrenus had in mind only
the translations, and that the
works in the original Greek far
surpassed the number of trans-
lations. Other writers who have
mentioned this library say it was
much larger than Cedrenus says
it was. Our friend Seneca reports
that four hundred thousand vol-
umes,a most precious monument
of royal munificence, perished
in the flames. Most precious,
indeed ; beyond all gold or rar-
est gems ! How much more pre-
cious if their number had been
greater still ! And greater in faft
it was. This number of Seneca's
falls short of the truth, and must
be extended to seven hundred
thousand. Let Josephus tell us.
He says that Demetrius, the li-

Of Libraries 41

brarian I have mentioned, was
once asked by Philadelphus how
many books he had in the libra-
ry, and replied that he had two
hundred thousand volumes, and
hoped soon to have five hundred
thousand.

So you see how the library
grew under his hands ; then con-
sider how much larger it must
have grown to be in later years,
under other kings, successors of
Philadelphus. A. Gellius frankly
says that the number rose to
seven hundred thousand. To
quotehimexaftly , " A prodigious
number of books was colle6led,
either by purchase or by copy-
ing, by the Ptolemaic kings of
Egypt, nearly seven hundred
thousand volumes.'' Ammianus,

42 A Brief History
from whom I shall quote shortly,
says the same, and Isidore also,
if his words be properly emend-
ed. **In Alexandria, in the days
of Philadelphus, there were," he
says," seventy thousand books."
I think that he should have said
seven hundred thousand.

A precious treasure! But, alas,
though it was the offspring of
man's immortal spirit it was not
itself immortal! For all this vast
store of books, whatever their
number may have been, perished
in the flames. Caesar, in the civil
war with Pompey, fought with
the Alexandrians in the city itself.
He set fire to the ships for his
own proteftion; from the ships
the flames spread to houses near
the harbour, then to the library

Of Libraries 43

itself, and consumed it utterly.

Shame be to Caesar for having
brought about , even though with-
out intent, this irreparable loss!
Yet he himself does not mention
it in the third book of his History
of the Civil War; and, later, Hir-
tius did not speak of it. But
others did; Plutarch, for exam-
ple, and Dion; and Livy also, as
ma}^ easily be shown by a refer-
ence to Seneca, who says, after
the words above quoted, "An-
other has praised the library,
even Livy, w^ho says that it had
been a splendid monumentto the
culture and the enlightened zeal
of kings/' These are the very
words used by Livy in speaking
of the fire, and of the praise due
the library itself and the kings

44 A Brief History
who had collefted it.

Ammianus also speaks of this
lamentable conflagration, and
says: *' Among all the temples
in Alexandria the Serapeum was
preeminent ; in it was formerly
a library of inestimable value
containing, according to the con-
current testimony of the ancient
monuments, sevenhundred thou-
sand volumes, collected with pa-
tient zeal by the Ptolemaic kings.
All of these books were con-
sumed by fire when the state,
under the diftatorship of Caesar,
was disrupted by the Alexan-
drian war." He wishes to make it
appear that this happened while
the city was being plundered.
A. Gellius says the same: ''All
these books were burned in the

Of Libraries 45

earlier Alexandrian war'' ( here
he is in error ; it was in the later
war, under Antony ) /' when the
state was disrupted ; and the burn-
ing was not intentional or pre-
meditated, and possibly was done
by the auxihary soldiers/' He
excuses Caesar, and with some
reason; for did ever any one
love books and the humanities
more than he? He also excuses
the Roman soldiers, and lays the
blame on the foreign auxiliaries.

If one consults Plutarch and
Dion one may see that they do
not think the burning took place
during the sack of the city.

Such, then, was the end of this
noble library; destroyed in the
one hundred and eighty-third
Olympiad , after enduring scarce-

46 A Brief History
ly two hundred and twenty-four
years. Yet it lived again, — not
the same colleftion, of course, for
that were impossible ; but a simi-
lar one, — and in the same build-
ing, the Serapeum. Cleopatra,
she who became famous through
her amours with Antony, re-
established the library. She re-
ceived from him, as the begin-
ning or foundation of the new
colle6lion, the Attalic or Perga-
mene library. She accepted the
entire colle6lion as a gift and had
it brought to Alexandria ; then
she again decorated the build-
ings and increased the collec-
tion, with the result that even in
the time of the Christian fathers
it was widely known and much
used. Tertullian says, ''To this

Of Libraries 47

day are to be found in the li-
brary of Ptolemy in the Sera-
peum books in Hebrew charac-
ters/' Note that, according to
this remark of Tertullian's, the
library was again installed in the
Serapeum, that is, in its porticoes
or galleries; and note, further,
that Strabo and others tell us that
the Serapeum was near the har-
bour and the ships. Note, once
more, that it was called the Pto-
lemaic library, though it was in
fa6l not the original library, but
a similar one; for the original
Hebrew texts and the original
translation called the Septuagint
had perished in the flames. And
yet once more note that the re-
putation and ancient authority
of this library were so great that

48 History of Libraries
Tertullian uses it as an argument
in his exhortation and admoni-
tion to the heathen.

For my part, I believe that the
library existed as long as did the
Serapeum itself, which was a tem-
ple of massive construftion and
of great si ze , and that, as reported
by certain ecclesiastical writers,
the Christians, during the reign
of Theodosius the Great, demol-
ished it utterly, as a monument
of superstition.

CHAPTER III

Libraries in Greece^ especially those of
Pisistratus and Aristotle. That at By-
zantium.

CONCERNING the libra-
ries of Egypt I have giv-
en fev^ and unimportant fa6ls,
though the colleftions them-
selves w^ere perhaps many and
of great importance. But history
here is dimmed by the mists of
time. The same must be said also
of the history of the libraries of
Greece. Athenaeus incidentally
refers to the more important of
them when he praises his friend
Laurentius for his skill in classi-
fying books, and says that in this
art he surpassed Polycrates of
Samos, Pisistratus the Tyrant,

50 A Brief History
Euclid the Athenian, Nicocrates
the Cyprian, Euripides the poet,
and Aristotle the philosopher. I
have little of detail to say about
any of these men. Of Pisistratus
it should be noted that A. Gelhus
gave to him the honour of being
the pioneer in this art of form-
ing a library ; though Poly crates
had one at about the same time.
A. Gellius says, to quote his very
words, ''Pisistratus the Tyrant
is said to have been the first to
make for public use in Athens a
collection of books on the liberal
arts.'' Here, then, was indeed a
great man, — he was called the
"Tyrant," but the word did not
convey at that time the odium
it does to-day, — and to him we
owe the text of Homer collefted

Of Libraries 51

and arranged as we now have it.
At that period critical studies, as
we now call them, that is, the col-
lation and emendation of texts,
were much followed by princes,
and even by kings. This library,
founded by Pisistratus,was add-
ed to from time to time by the
Athenians, until Xerxes carried
it awa}^ when he captured Ath-
ens. Many years afterwards
Seleucus Nicanor, King of Sy-
ria, very generously caused the
books of this library to be re-
turned to Athens. They re-
mained there until the time of
Sulla, w^ho captured and plun-
dered the city. But even after
that, I am sure we must believe
the library was again estab-
lished ; for how could a city be,

52 A Brief History
as Athens was, the mother of the
arts without the aid of books ? In-
deed there must have been many
libraries there in later years. Ha-
drian, for example, so Pausa-
nias wrote, erefted in Athens a
temple to the Panhellenic Jove,
and placed in it a library.

Of Euclid, Athenaeus says that
he was an archon and one of the
morelearned of the magistrates ;
nothing more.

Of Aristotle, Strabo speaks in
terms of highest praise, and I
have already quoted his words.
I also cited the statement from
Athenaeus that Aristotle's libra-
ry came finally into the posses-
sion of the Ptolemies. Strabo and
some others, however, seem to
question this statement. "The

Of Libraries 53

books of Aristotle/' says Strabo,
" which were lefttoNeleus, were
finally handed on to certain de-
scendants of his who were men
of no learning. By them the
books were kept under lock and
key, and were not used. Then
they were buried under ground
and much injured by worms and
mould; but finally were pur-
chased at a great price by Apel-
licon of Teos. He had the books,
now sadly worm-eaten and tat-
tered, transcribed, though not
faithfully or with good judge-
ment, and published. On his
death Sulla, then master of Ath-
ens, seized the books and sent
them to Rome, where Tyrannion
the grammarian made use of
them and, so it is reported, rear-

54 A Brief History
ranged tliem and to some extent
corrupted their text/' Plutarch
tells the same or a very similar
story in his life of Sulla. If it is
true, how could the books of
Aristotle have come from Neleus
to Philadelphus, as Athenaeus
says they did in the passage
quoted above? Perhaps we can
reconcile the two statements, and
this is my conclusion, by suppos-
ing that Neleus retained Aris-
totle's own writings, his original
manuscripts, as a precious heri-
tage for his own family, and sold
the rest of the books, written by
others, to Philadelphus.

I do not recall any other mat-
ters worth relating about the li-
braries of Greece. I do not need
to say that the Romans, after

Of Libraries 55

they conquered the country, un-
doubtedly took to Italy many
colle6lions of books.

Perhaps I should simply men-
tion the Byzantine library of the
time of the Emperors. Zonaras
and Cedrenus say that under the
Emperor Basiliscus, the library
in Byzantium, into which had
been gathered a hundred and
twenty thousand volumes, was
destroyed by fire. Among the
books was the gut of a great
dragon, one hundred and twen-
ty feet long, on which was writ-
ten in letters of gold the whole
of the Iliad and the Odyssey. But
this hbrary, being in Thrace and
not in Greece, ought not to be
considered as among the Grecian
libraries.

CKL\PTER IV

^he Attalic Library^ of iDhkh Eume-
ties "was the founder. Certain errors of
statement about it made by Pliny and
Fitruvius. Its size and the length of
time it existed.

THE Attalic or Pergamene
library, in Asia, was al-
most as illustrious as the Alex-
andrian. When the Attalic kings,
minor powers at first, became
great and rich through an al-
liance with the Romans, they
adorned their capital city in many
ways and erefted in it a library.
Strabo regarded Eumenes, the
son of King Attalus, as the foun-
der of this colle6lion. *' Eume-
nes,'' he says, " built the city and
beautifully adorned it as it now

)

irotM- •^'

58 A Brief History
is, with temples and a library."
Pliny says,** According to Varro
there was a rivalry over their re-
spective libraries between Pto-
lemy and Eumenes, and the for-
mer forbade the exportation of
paper from his kingdom, and the
latterof parchment from his/' Je-
rome, in his letter to Chroma-
tins, and Aelian, made similar
statements, though they say it
was Attains who was jealous of
Ptolemy, and not Eumenes. Con-
cerning neither of them, how-
ever, can the story be true; for,
as a comparison of dates will
show, they both lived almost a
centuryafterPhiladelphus.How,
then, could there have been be-
tween them the jealousy which
Pliny speaks of .'^ Unless, indeed,

Of Libraries 59

" Ptolemy" is used simply in re-
ference to the kings of Egypt in
general, and refers here not to
Philadelphus but to Ptolemy the
Fifth, generally called Ptolemy
Epiphanes, who was a contem-
porary of Eumenes. He perhaps,
though he was not at all distin-
guished for his zeal in regard to
libraries, forbade the exportation
of paper, in fear lest another new
library should rival his own more
ancient one.

The erroneous or careless state-
ment just noted is still more
crudely put by Vitruvius. He
says, to quote him direftly , *' Af-
ter the Attalic kings, led by their
great interest and delight in lit-
erature, established for general
enjoyment a superb library at

6o A Brief History
Pergamum, Ptolemy, stirred to a
boundless zeal by their example,
and rivalling them in aft ivity, en-
deavoured to establish at Alex-
andria a library equal to theirs/'
How absurd the statement! As
if the Attalic kings antedated the
Alexandrian in this art! As if, in
this field of books, the latter
caught from the former their zeal ,
or looked to them for example !
Why, the exa6l opposite was
true ; for the Ptolemies praftised
the art of establishing libraries
long before the Attalic kings had
ever thought of it. It is possible,
of course, that here again the
writer alludes, without naming
him, to one of the later Ptole-
mies. But even then it remains
true that the Pergamene library

Of Libraries 6i

never rivalled the Alexandrian
in either resources or age. Plu-
tarch writes to this effe6l where,
mentioning both libraries, he
says that Antony the Triumvir,
fascinated by the charms of Cleo-
patra, gave to her the library at
Pergamum, in which were two
hundred thousand volumes. I use
the word *' volumes" and not" ti-
tles,'' for I think the word which
Plutarch uses refers to several
works boundtogetherinone vol-
ume, and that these several work s
are not counted in giving the size
of the library.

This Pergamene library ceased
to exist, then, soon after the de-
stru6lionof the first Alexandrian
one ; but lived again in the lat-
ter when it was reestablished.

62 History of Libraries
Was it set up again in its own
city? Certainly Strabo's words,
quoted above, if carefully consi-
dered, seem to imply that it was.
For he says,** was erefted where
it now is/' What does he mean
by *'now"? Plainly the time
when he, Strabo, was writing,
which was in the reign of Tibe-
rius. So it appears that the vic-
torious Augustus, who annulled
much that Antony did, either
brought the library back to its
old home in Pergamum,or,what
is more probable, caused it to be
copied again and reestablished
it. But on this point I do not ven-
ture to speak with certainty.

CHAPTER V

Roman libraries ; pri-cate ones; and the
first public library, that of Asinius
Pollio.

HAVING spoken of such li-
braries of foreign peoples
as seem worthy of mention, let
us pass to those of Rome, which
are nearer to us in both place
and time.

Slow enough at first was the
growth of love of books and in-
terest in the humanities among
the Romans; for the Romans
were children of Mars, not of
the Muses. But at last, by God's
grace, here also culture took root
andrefinementgained in esteem,
though slowly at first, as it
always does. Isidore notes that

64 A Brief History
Aemilius Paulus was the first to
bring to Rome any large num-
ber of books, and this he did after
he had conquered Perseus, King
of the Macedonians ; then Lucul-
lus did the same after the pillage
of Pontus. Thus he names two
who brought books to Rome. But
they did not make them acces-
sible to the public. Concerning
Aemilius I have read nothing
further; of Lucullus, Plutarch
speaks at great length. He says :
" His delight in books and his
free expenditure for them should
be highly praised. For he ac-
quired many of them, and very
beautifully written ones; and
showed the same liberality in
respeft to their use that he
showed in respeft to their pur-

Of Libraries 65

chase. His library was open to
every one ; and in the adjoining
colonnades and exedras learned
Greeks were especially made
welcome. Here they came, as toa
temple of the Muses, and passed
the time pleasantly together free
from all cares. And often Lucul-
lus himself came to these colon-
nades and walks, and joined the
learned in their conversations,
and took part in their philosophi-
cal discussions."

From which you may see.
Most Illustrious Prince, howfree
and open this library was; and
that though he retained the title
to it himself, he gave the unre-
stri61:ed use of it to the learned,
just as you so generously do
with your own.

66 A Brief History

To Aemilius and Lucullus one
may add the name of Cornelius
Sulla, afterwards diftator, as a
founder of libraries. He brought
from Greece and Athens to Rome
a very large number of books
and arranged them to form a
library. About this Lucian has
written, as well as Plutarch.

But after all these things were
done, a true public library for
Rome had not yet been estab-
lished. The thought of such an
institution was first conceived
by the great and glorious Julius
Caesar, and would by him have
been carried to its conclusion had
not the fates forbidden. Sueto-
nius says, '' He planned to open
to the public libraries formed
of as many books in the Greek

Of Libraries 67

and Latin languages as he could
bring together, and to give to
Marcus Varro the duty of organ-
izing and managing them/' This
was truly the plan of a generous
spirit, and of a wise one also ; for
who in all the world was better
fitted than Varro, most learned
in Greek and Roman letters, to
carry out such a scheme? But
Caesar was not destined to real-
ize his thought. Augustus, his
adopted son, added a library to
the other adornments and glories
he gave to the city. At his sug-
gestion and inspired by him, Asi-
nius Pollio, orator, senator, and
noble, erefted a temple of liber-
ty, so Suetonius says, and placed
in it a library which he made free
to all. Isidore says, "Pollio was

68 A Brief History
the first to establish a public li-
brary in Rome, one composed of
books in Greek and in Latin, and
decorated with busts of famous
authors. He placed it in the pub-
lic hall, which he magnificently
adorned with the spoils of war/'
"Spoils of war ''refers to those ta-
ken from the Dalmatians, whom
he had just conquered. Pliny re-
marks that Asinius Pollio was the
first to establish a library which
made free to all the wisdom of
all.

It seems plain from these writ-
ers that this library was in the
Hall of Liberty, on the Aventine
Hill. I think it was rather rear-
ranged or reconstrufted for the
library than built especially for
it. It had been in existence a long

Of Libraries 69

time before Pollio's day. Plu-
tarch and other writers say that
it dated from the time of Tibe-
riusGracchuSjfatheroftheGrac-
chi.PolliOjit would seem, refitted
it and dedicated it to this glo-
rious use. Ovid's words should
be noted here, for he says, — his
book, Tristia^ is supposed to
be speaking, — "Liberty did not
permit me to enter her hall ; that
hall in which were first opened to
the public the books of the wise."
I do not think the words he uses
in these lines have reference,
as some think, to a gathering
of poets. The book — for, as I
have said, it is a book which
Ovid's verse makes us suppose
is speaking — frankly complains
that it was not received into the

70 History of Libraries
library of Asinius, that library
which was the first to open to
public use the writings of learn-
ed men.

CHAPTER VI

The Libraries of Augustus^ the OEia-
vian and the Palatine. Their Librari-
ans and Custodians.

IT was, then, under Augus-
tus that this the first pub-
lic library was established. Soon
there were two others, also dueto
him. The first, the 06lavian, he
founded in honour of his sister,
and gave it her name. Of this
Dion Cassius says, in his chro-
nicle of the year 721 ," Augustus
built a colonnade and in it es-
tablished a library, which he
named after his sister Oftavia.'*
Plutarch seems to ascribe this
work to Oftavia herself, when
he says, "In honour of Marcel-
lus, his mother 06lavia built a 11-

72 A Brief History
brary and dedicated it to his me-
mory; Augustus built a theatre
and gave to it the name of Mar-
cellus/' I think Plutarch is here
in error, for the note of Dion's
places the ere6lion of the Colon-
nade of 06lavia ten whole years
before the death of Marcellus.
He adds that these memorials
were erefted from spoils of the
Dalmatians, and his words draw
attention to the remarkable fa6l
that the first and second libra-
ries of Rome were both due, in
a certain sense, to barbarians.

Suetonius, in speaking of Me-
lissus the grammarian, says that
after he was freed he soon be-
came intimate with Augustus,
and at the latter's request under-
took, and very efficiently, the task

Of Libraries 73

of arranging the library in the
Colonnade of 06lavia. It is my
opinion that it was in the upper
part of the colonnade, as safer
and more appropriate, since the
lower part was used as a pro-
menade. Ovid again makes his
little book of verse say, "I seek
another temple, near the thea-
tre; and this also was forbid-
den to my feet." The book com-
plains that it is spurned by the
library, and incidentally tells
where the library was, — near
the theatre of Marcellus. He
calls the building, which was in
fa6l a portico, a temple, because
in it, as Pliny says, was an altar
to Juno, and certain beautiful
statues.
Still another library was found-

74 A Brief History
ed by this same Augustus, the
Palatine, so called because it was
in the royal palace itself. Sue-
tonius says, **He built the tem-
ple of Apollo in that part of his
house on the Palatine Hill which
had been struck by lightning,
and was thereby, as the priests
interpreted the faft, marked out
as a spot dear to God. To the
temple he added porticoes, in
which he placed a library of book s
in Latin and in Greek . " This hap-
pened in the seven hundred and
twenty-sixth year of the city, as
one may learn from the opening
lines of Dion's History, hook liii.
It seems, then, that Ovid fol-
lowed the order of the dates of
their establishment in his refer-
ence to the libraries of Rome,

Of Libraries 75

when he named, in the following
quotation, first the Asinian, next
the 06lavian, and last the Pala-
tine.

From thence we to Apollo's temple went,
To which by steps there is a faire ascent:
Where stand the signs in faire outlandish stone,
of Belus and of Palammed the sonne.
There ancient bookes, and those that are more

new,
Doe all lye open to the Reader's view.
I sought my brethren there, excepting them.
Whose haplesse birth my father doth condeme.
And as I sought, the chiefe man of the place.
Bid me be gone out of that holy space. '^

Here Ovid shows, among other
things, that there was a librarian
or custodian of the Palatine li-
brary. Suetonius tells us he was
C. Julius Higinus. In his Ce-
lebrated Grammarians he says,
" This man presided over the Pa-

^IV. Saltans taWs translation^ 1637.

76 A Brief History
latine library ; though meanwhile
he followed his profession and
taught many /'Later there w^as a
special custodian for the books
in Greek , and another for those
in Latin. On an ancient marble
tablet are inscribed these words :

ANTIOCHUS

IN CHARGE OF THE LATIN BOOKS

IN THE LIBRARY OF

TI. CLAUDIUS CAESAR

IN THE TEMPLE OF APOLLO

On another:

C. JULIUS FALYX

IN CHARGE OF THE GREEK BOOKS

OF THE

PALATINE LIBRARY

There are other similar inscrip-
tions.

To this Palatine library Pliny
refers when he says, '' We may

Of Libraries 77

see in the library in the temple
of Augustus a Tuscan statue re-
presenting Apollo, fifty feet in
height/' This quotation, how-
ever, may point to the library
of Vespasian Augustus, which
was in the temple of Peace. But
Pliny refers very plainly to the
Palatine library when he says,
*' The old Greek letters were al-
most the same as the Latin let-
ters of the present time, as is
shown by an ancient Delphic
tablet of bronze, dedicated to
Minerva, which is now in the
Palatine — that gift of emperors
— in the library/' I am led to be-
lieve, from the words of John of
Salisbury, that this library was in
existence in Rome for a very
long time, since he writes,*' The

78 History of Libraries
learned and most holy Gregory
not only banished astrology from
the court; but also, as is reported
by them of old time, gave to
the flames those writings of ap-
proved merit, and whatever else
the Palatine library in Apollo's
temple possessed. Preeminent a-
mong these were some which
seemed designed to reveal to
men the will of the celestial be-
ings and the oracles of the higher
powers/'

This quotation is w^orthy of
note.

CHAPTER VII

like Libraries of ^iherius^ of 'Trajan^
of Vespasian; also the CapitoUne; other
unknown Libraries.

WE have seen that two li-
braries were established
in Rome by the Emperor Au-
gustus, a most zealous patron of
the arts and sciences. What may
be said of other Roman libraries?
Certainly there were others ; and
there even seems to have been
a spirit of rivalry among the
rulers of that time in regard to
them, each contending for the
palm as founder of libraries. For
example, Tiberius, soon afterthe
death of Augustus, established
one within the limits of the royal
palace itself, on that part which

8o A Brief History
fronts on the Via Sacra. Students
of the subje6l think that here
were Tiberius's own special a-
partments ; and A . Gellius locates
the library in thcmwhenhesays,
" While Apollinaris and I were
sitting in the library in the house
of Tiberius/' Vopiscus makes the
same statement in efFe6l, for he
tells us that he used the books in
the Ulpian library and also those
in the apartments of Tiberius.

It seems that in due course Ves-
pasian also collefted a library and
placed it in the temple of Peace,
as we gather from A. Gellius's
remark/' We souglit very dili-
gently for the Commentary of
L. Aelius, the teacher of Varro,
and found it, and read it, in the
library in the temple of Peace."

Of Libraries 8i

Galen also mentions it in his
Treatise on the Compounding of
Medicines.

Another library was gathered
by Trajan, of which A. Gellius
also speaks/' We happened/'he
says, *' to be sitting in the library
in the temple of Trajan/' This
is the one which is commonly
called the Ulpian, from the fa-
mily name of the Emperor Tra-
jan. Vopiscus says, 'T learned
these things from the elders;
and I read them also, in the
books of the Ulpian library;''
also, *Tf you are still in doubt,
consult the books in Greek, then
look up also the linen books, the
ancient chronicles, which the
Ulpian library can show to you
whenever you wish/'

82 A Brief History

I am of the opinion that this
Ulpian hbrary was at first in the
forum of Trajan, where theother
monuments ere6led by that em-
peror were placed ; and w as af-
terwards moved to the Viminal
Hill to adorn the Baths of Dio-
cletian. If so moved, why not
by Diocletian himself? Vopiscus
would lead us to think it was,
for he says, *'I make use espe-
cially of the books of the Ulpian
library, which in my time was in
the Baths of Diocletian." When
he expressly says that in his
time it was in a certain place, he
plainly implies that it had pre-
viously been in another place.

Let us pass now to the Capi-
toline library, concerning which
Eusebius says, in speaking of the

Of Libraries 83

reign of the Emperor Commo-
dus, "The lightning struck the
Capitol and started a great fire,
which consumed the library and
the houses near it/' Orosius re-
lates the incident more at length :
*' Upon the city falls the punish-
ment for the crimes of the em-
peror. The Capitol was struck by
lightning, and a terrible confla-
gration burst forth, which de-
voured both the library, which
had been gathered by men of old
with so much zeal and care, and
all the adjoining dwellings/*

Who was the founder of this
library? We cannot be sure, but
we may surmise that it was Do-
mitian. At one time he narrowly
escaped death in the Capitol, and
there, after he became emperor.

84* A Brief History
he erefted a temple; and if the
temple, why not the library with-
in it? No record, it is true, re-
mains to prove that he did. Sue-
tonius speaks of the matter in a
very vague way where he says,
" He, Domitian , was at great pains
to reestablish the library which
had been burned, and at large
expense sought for books in all
parts of the world, and sent sa-
vants to Alexandria to copy and
edit books there for his library/'
We note from this that even then
the Alexandrian was looked up-
on as the source and very fos-
ter-mother of all other libraries,
and that these others sought from
her carefully edited and beauti-
fully written books to replace
their corrupted versions. More-

Of Libraries 85

over, these other and later h-
braries were preserved through
the enlightened interest of the
princes of their day, for if this
had not been so, how could there
have been so many libraries at
the time of P. Vi6lor, that is, in
the reign of Constantine ? Vi61or
says that he noted, among oth-
er remarkable things in Rom.e,
twenty-nine public libraries; two
of w^hich were especially note-
worthy, the Palatine and the
Ulpian.

Alas, of how many of these
have we no record w^hatsoever!
Out of all the twenty-nine we
discovered, for all our diligence,
traces of seven only, and of these
have rescued from oblivion hard-
ly more than their names.

CHAPTER VIII

Of the Tiburtine Library; also of cer-
tain of the more important Private Li-
braries. I'hese latter were sometimes
found in the Baths ^ sometimes in the
Country Houses.

CONCERNING the greater
part of the Roman public
libraries I have learned nothing,
as I have said ; not even of those
within the city.

There was one at Tibur, near
Rome, about which A. Gellius
says,'* We recall having found
it written in that same book of
Claudius in the library at Tibur/'
And again, '' He brought it from
the library of Tibur, which was
at that time very conveniently
located in the temple of Her-

88 A Brief History
CLiles/' Here and elsewhere we
note that the libraries were often
placed in or near temples. And
why should not the sacred pro-
duftions of human genius be de-
posited in consecrated buildings?
It is possible that the Emperor
Hadrian established this library
at Tibur, for it is well known
that he took much pleasure in
that spot, and spared no expense
in adorning it with many and
very beautiful buildings.

It seems evident to me that
in all the cities and colonies of
the empire libraries were found
and the arts and humanities were
cultivated.

Certain of the wealthy citizens,
it appears, had their own private
libraries, some of them very no-

Of Libraries 89

ble ones, partly for use and part-
ly for the sake of the reputation
for learning which they gave.

For example, there is Tyran-
nion the grammarian , in the reign
of Sulla, who had three thousand
volumes. Epaphroditus of Chae-
ronea,also a grammarian by pro-
fession, is another example. Sui-
das says of him that he lived at
Rome from the time of Nero to
that of Nerva,and was so assid-
uous a purchaser of books that
he collefted thirty thousand of
them, and they of the best and
rarest. I applaud this last ex-
ample, not so much, of course,
for the great number of books
he colle6led as for the good taste
he showed in choosing them. I
should like to believe that this

go A Brief History
Epaphroditus was the one who
had among his slaves Epiftetus,
the very head of the true phi-
losophy. Certainly they were
contemporaries. But the rank and
occupation of the two men were
very different, the book-collec-
tor being a grammarian, accord-
ing to Suidas, while the owner of
Epiftetus was one of the body-
guards of Nero. Whoever he
w^as, Samonicus Serenus sur-
passed him in his zeal for book-
colle6ling, for he had a library
in which there were sixty-two
thousand volumes. When he died
he left his books to Gordian the
Less, afterwards emperor. The
gift is reported by Capitolinus
with these words of praise,*' This
has immortahzed Gordian; for

Of Libraries 91

men of letters will never cease
to speak of the gift of so vast and
splendid a library/'

Consider, O Most Illustrious
Prince, how this love of books
brings favour and high renown,
— such favour and renown as
should be granted without limit
to great men like yourself.

Those I have named, and a few
besides, are known to have had
notable libraries. There were, of
course, many others of whom we
know nothing. Senecashowsthat
the habit of book-colle6ling was
very common in his time, and
condemns it. You ask, why did
he condemn it? '* Because,'' he
says, ''they acquired books not
that they might enjoy them, but
simply for show. To most of

92 A Brief History
these newly rich, ignorant even
of the elements of belles-lettres,
books are not aids to study,
but simply ornaments of dining-
rooms/' A little further on he
adds : "Why, in the homes of the
idlest of the rich you will find all
that orators or historians have
written, with bookcases built
clear to the ceiling! Formerly a
library gave a home an air of
culture; one is now put in, like
a bathroom, simply as a neces-
sary part of the equipment of a
house/' A sad state of affairs, I
admit. And yet it is to be wished
that our own rich men had the
same taste in luxuries ; for a col- I
le6lion of books can alw^ays be of
use and value to some one, even
if not to the owner.

Of Libraries 93

We note that libraries were
placed in the baths, as we did
above in the case of the Ulpian
library, which was in the Baths
of Diocletian. If you ask why, I
would say because the Romans,
while caring for the body in the
bath, found their minds at ease,
and discovered that then was
a favourable time, especially for
those who were deeply en-
grossed in affairs, to read or to
be read to. For a like reason they
had books in their villas and
country seats. There also they
found a leisure and a freedom
from care which were favourable
to reading.

A decision of the jurisconsult
Paulus calls attention to this cus-
tom of having libraries : *' In a

94 History of Libraries
legacy of real estate any books
and any library which are in the
house pass to the legatee." Pliny
says, speaking of his own villa,
"A bookcase is built into the
wall, thus forming, as it were,
a little library." Martial praises
the library at the country-place
of a certain other Julius Martial,
as follows:

Thou lovely country library,
Whence thy lord views the city nigh.
If, 'mongst his serious studys, place
My wanton muse may find, and grace,
To these sev'n books afford a roome,
Though on the lowest shelf, which come
Correfted by their author's penn."*

* translation from a sixteenth century
MS. Bohn.

CHAPTER IX

'The Decoration of Libraries with Ivory
and with Glass, Bookcases and Shelves^
'Tables and Seats.

I HAVE now gone rapidly
over the early history of li-
braries and have mentioned those
of which time has not destroyed
all records. As to what I have
written, I must confess that it is
but a trivial mention of a great
subje6l, — as the old saying goes,
" a drop of water out of a full
bucket/' Yet I have said enough,
perhaps, to aft as an incentive
or to serve as an example.

I shall add a few words on the
decoration of libraries and the
arrangement of their books.

From Isidore I learn that the

96 A Brief History
more experienced architects did
not think that the ceilings of h-
braries should be gilded, or that
the floors should be made of any
but Carystian marble; this be-
cause the glitter of gold is rather
tiring to the eyes,while the green
of Carystian marble rests them.

This is good advice from whom-
ever it may have come. True it
is, as my own experience proves,
that a brilliant light is disturbing
to the attention and makes wTit-
ing difficult ; and green is a col-
our which seems to rest and re-
fresh the eyes.

Boethius adds something fur-
ther to this subj eft of decoration,
when he says, in his book on
Consolation, ''The walls were
decorated with ivory and glass."

Of Libraries 97

Does he mean the walls of the
room itself? It would seem so, for
the bookcases or shelves were
not placed against the walls, in
which case the ornamentation of
the latter would not have been
seen, but were set out in the
room, just as they are in most
public libraries to-day. Glass cut
in squares, circles, ovals, and
rhomboids was used like mar-
ble tiles, to ornament the walls,
though oftener the arches and
the ceilings. Pliny says in hisiV^-
tural History ,hookxxxvi , ''Tiles
made of earth they transformed
into glass and put on the arches ;
and this is a recent invention/'
It was, then, still a novelty in the
time of Nero and Seneca. Yet
Seneca speaks of it as a common

98 A Brief History
thing, in letter Lxxxvi,on baths,
where he says,'* Unless the arch
is covered with glass/' On this
point consult my w^ork on the
baths of the Romans.

That it was also used on the
walls, Vopiscus, as well as Boe-
thius, shows when he says in
speaking of Firmus," The house
appears to have been covered
over wdth squares of glass, with
bitumen and other material be-
tween the squares/' I think the
bitumen was here used to fasten
the squares of glass to the wall,
and not to join them to each
other. The joints between the
pieces of glass were more ap-
propriately covered with ivory,
as Boethius seems to say they
were. Ivory was placed also

Of Libraries 99

on the bookcases themselves;
whence the phrase, ''ivory li-
brary," in the Pandefts. Seneca
mentions bookcases made of ce-
dar and ivory.

Common sense and the general
fitness of the thing of course
make it plain that there were
bookcases in libraries; I would
add the fa6l that the cases were
numbered. Vopiscus so indicates
when he says, ''The Ulpian li-
brary has the elephant book in
the sixth case." Whether by
"elephant" he means made of
ivory or of the skin of an ele-
phant, I cannot say. The old
scholiast in commenting on this
phrase, from Juvenal, "Hie li-
bros dabit et forulos" (This one
will furnish you with books and

loo A Brief History
cases), gives as an equivalent
phrase, *' Armaria, bibliotheca"
(A library and the books in it).
I think the word foriili ( pigeon-
holes), as here used, properly
means either compartments in
the shelves, '* nests'' for the
books, following Martiars use of
the w^ord; or, in Seneca's use of
it, separate little cases for them.
Sidonius speaks of these cases
and of other things found in
libraries. " Here," he says, '* is an
astonishing number of books and
you would think yourself in a
library and could see the shelves
[pliitei) of the grammarians; or
the seats [cunei) of Athenaeus;
or the lofty bookcases ( armaria)
of the booksellers." Plutei are
the slopingtables on which books

Of Libraries loi"

were placed for reading ; cimei,
the rows of seats, as explained
in Athenaeus; and armaria, hook-
cases, generally wide and tall,
as I have shown. These last
Cicero seems to call pegmata in
a letter to Atticus.

CHAPTER X

Statues of Learned Men sometimes
placed in Libraries; a -praiseworthy
Custom which originated with Asinius,

A MOST appropriate method
of decorating a library,
one which ought to be imitated
by us to-day but unhappily is
not, is that of placing in it and
near their writings the statues
or busts of great authors. How
delightful it must have been to
the readers to see them, and
how stimulating to the mind!
We all wish to become familiar
with the features and the gen-
eral appearance of great men,
with those material bodies in
which dwelt their celestial spirits ,
and, lifting our eyes from their

104 A Brief History
books, here they are before us!
You could read the writings of
Homer, Hippocrates, Aristotle,
Pindar, Virgil, Cicero ,and others,
and at the same time feast your
eyes upon the counterfeit pre-
sentment of each one. Again I
say, a most beautiful custom,
and why, Most Illustrious Friend,
do we to-day not imitate it, un-
der your leadership?

This idea seems to have ori-
ginated with the Romans — not
every good thing, after all, has
come from the Greeks ! Pliny is
of this opinion. ''Nothing,'' he
says, speaking in his most happy
vein, " is more delightful than to
have knowledge of the face and
bearing of the authors one reads.
Asinius Pollio, at Rome, appa-

Of Libraries 105

rently originated this idea of
placing statues in libraries ; that
same Asinius who was the first,
by founding a free library, to
make the wisdom of mankind
free to all. Whether the kings
at Alexandria and Pergamum,
who showed great zeal in the
founding of libraries, had done
the same before, I find it impos-
sible to learn/' So it seems, as I
have said, that Asinius was the
originator of the idea ; and Pliny
says that he placed in a library,
the first public one opened in the
city (not, in the world, as some
absurdly render the phrase),
the statue of a living man, Mar-
cus Varro, the first person to
have that honour. Afterwards
the same distin6lion was shown

io6 A Brief History
to others , either through courtesy
or because it was j ustly due them ;
for example, to the poet Mar-
tial, who boasted that Stertinius
wished to place a statue of him in
his library. But for the most part
this honour has been reserved for
the dead, and for those who have,
by common consent, proved their
greatness.

Pliny says, "A certain custom,
now just established, ought not
to be passed by in silence. I re-
fer to the faft that they place in
libraries, not only the statues in
gold, silver, or bronze of those
whose immortal souls may be said
to be speaking there through
their books, but also the statues
of those whose books are not
there; and even imaginary sta-

Of Libraries 107
tues of those of whom no por-
traits have been preserved/' He
calls the custom a new one,
meaning that it originated with
Pollio. He says also that these
statues of the dead were for the
most part made of metal. I would
add that they were also made of
plaster,in which they were easily
duplicated for private libraries.
Juvenal says /'Though you may
find everywhere busts of Chry-
sippus in plaster/'

Indeed I think the portraits
were sometimes paintings, and
that perhaps they placed por-
traits at the beginnings of books.
Seneca says, ''Those exquisite
works of highest genius, illus-
trated with the portraits of their
authors." Suetonius says of Ti-

io8 A Brief History
berius,"He placed their writings
and their portraits in the public
libraries among the old and ac-
cepted authors/* And Pliny in
his letters remarks, " Herennius
Severus, a most learned man,
is very desirous to place in his
own library the statues of Cor-
nelius Nepos andTitus Atticus/'
So, according to these two writ-
ers, both statues and portraits
were used. Pliny also says, in
speaking of Silius Italicus, "He
owned many villas in these same
places, and in them he had many
portraits ; moreover, he not only
owned them, he almost wor-
shipped them, especially the por-
trait of Virgil/' Vopiscus says of
Numerian that a certain oration
of his was held to be so eloquent

Of Libraries 109
that it was decided that a statue
be made of him as an orator, not
as emperor, and placed in the
Ulpian library with this inscrip-
tion: *'To Numerian, Emperor,
the greatest Orator of his time/'
Sidonius, justly boasting of a
statue ere61:ed to himself in the
same place, says, "Nerva Trajan
has seen fit to place an enduring
statue of me, in honour of my
writings, among other authors in
both libraries/' By "both libra-
ries'' he means that his statue
was set up in the Greek as well
as in the Latin library.

Small portraits or statues were,
it seems, often placed on brack-
ets projefting from the cases
or shelves on which stood the
works of the wTiters they repre-

no History OF Libraries
sented. I quote a line from Ju-
venal, ''And bids the bust of
Cleanthes guard the shelf on
which his works repose."

The same custom is referred
to in the distich which was in-
scribed on a bust of Virgil : *' No
harm can come to a poet who
is honoured by having both his
verse and his bust upon the libra-
ry shelf;" meaning that he has
attained to lasting fame who lives
both in his books and in his sculp-
tured likeness. Note also the seals
or medallions above the shelves
referred to by Cicero in a letter
to Atticus. In Cicero's day they
ornamented libraries with stat-
ues of the gods as well as of au-
thors.

CHAPTER XI

J -word about the Alexandrian Mu-
seuvi. Learned ??ien dwelt in it sup-
ported from the Public Funds. Kings
and Emperors made this Museum their
special Care.

I HAVE nothing further that
seems worth saying on this
subje6l of libraries, except a few
words about their use. If they
stand empty, or with only an oc-
casional visitor; if students do not
frequent them and make use of
their books, why were they ever
established, and what are they
save that "idle luxury in the
garb of scholarship" to which
Seneca alludes? The Alexan-
drian kings saw to it that there
were students to make use of

112 A Brief History
their library, for they built near
it a Museum, so called because
it was, so to speak, a temple of
the Muses, in which it was pos-
sible to follow the Muses, to cul-
tivate the humanities, free from
all cares, even from the labour of
providing food and lodging , since
the students in it were supported
from the public funds. How ad-
mirable an institution! Strabo
gives us the best description of
it:
"Part of the royal palace is a
Museum, in which one may stroll
or sit at ease, with a great hall,
in which men of letters, who are
members of the Museum, hold
meetings and take their meals
together. Moreover, this college,
as we may call the Museum or-

Of Libraries 113
ganization with its students, has
a foundation or common fund for
its support; and a priest, who is
president of the Museum, for-
merly appointed by the kings of
Egypt, but at the present time
by the emperor/'

He says this was part of the
royal palace. Doubtless the kings
wished it to be near their own
apartments that they might have
at hand the learned men who
were its inmates, and converse
with them when they pleased;
thus acquiring knowledge and
training their minds. It had porti-
coes and exedras,the former be-
ing more for the exercise of the
body, the latter for the training
of the mind, as in them the stu-
dents gathered, conferred, and

114 A Brief History
held discussions. There was also
a hall, where they ate together.
Philostratus says the same thing
in speaking of Dionysius, who
was, he writes, "received into
the Museum;" and then adds,
**The Museum is the Egyptian
banquet-hall of learning, which
brings together all the men of
letters from all parts of the
world."

Note particularly the words,
**all the men of letters from all
parts of the world," for even if
not to be taken literally they
show that the number was very
large and the expense very great.
Timon the satirist calls our at-
tention to the same points when
he says, in Iiis satirical and carp-
ing way, " Many people are sup-

Of Libraries 115
ported at public expense in Egypt
the populous, that they may idly
browse among books and quar-
rel over them in the cave of the
Muses/' Athenaeus, comment-
ing on this passage, say s/*Timon
spoke of the Museum as a cave
orcage, thus making sport of the
philosophers maintained there,
as if they were so many rare
birds/'

Athenaeus, we see, calls them
philosophers; but Strabo uses
the more general phrase, ''men
of letters and savants;'' and no
doubt scholars of every sort were
admitted. Strabo puts special
stress on theword" men," show-
ing that boys and youths and
those beginning their studies
were not taught in the Museum,

1 16 A Brief History
as they would be in a similar
place to-day ; but that admittance
was rather a reward for erudi-
tion already attained, an honour
rightly earned. At Athens, fol-
lowing a similar custom, those
who deserved the honour were
supported in the Prytaneum at
public expense.

What think you of that, O
Prince of to-day.^ Does not the
wish rise within you to establish
again this noble custom.^

Continuing Strabo's account of
the Museum: he says a priest
was appointed to manage its af-
fairs, who was selefted by the
kings or emperors. The position
must have been of great dignity,
and one which it was thought the
emperor himself should fill. One

Of Libraries 117
may ask if the emperor did not
appoint all the officials? Philo-
stratus seems to imply that he
did, when he says, speaking
of Dionysius the sophist, "The
Emperor Hadrian appointed him
satrap or governor of many peo-
ple, and named those who should
receive public honours, and those
also who should be maintained at
public expense in the Museum."
Again, speaking of Polemon, he
says," Hadrian made him amem-
ber of the Museum, where he
lived at public expense/' Let me
add that, though I have not so in-
dicated in my translation, Philo-
stratus uses in the phrase I have
quoted a word meaning " circle,'*
from which it would seem that
members were admitted in a cer-

1 18 A Brief History
tain order and in proper turn,
some even being chosen before
any vacancy had occurred. These
no doubt waited in confidence
and entered in due course, in the
orderof their appointment. A Hke
custom prevails to-day among
princes in conferring favours.

Athenaeus throws light on this
matter of appointments to the
Museum by the emperor when
he says that a certain poet. Pan-
crates, very cleverly praised Ha-
drian's favourite, Antinous, and
that the emperor, delighted with
the subtle flattery, ordered the
poet to be supported free of ex-
pense at the Museum.

So much for the reports of
Strabo and others on the Mu-
seum and its management.

Of Libraries 119
Let me add that the inmates of
the Museum by no means lived
therein an idle and useless life
( how could they, being men who
were dedicated, as it were, to
public service ? ) , but were dili-
gent in writing, in arguing, and
reciting their own works. Spar-
tianus testifies to this in his re-
mark about Hadrian, to the ef-
fe6l that he propounded ques-
tions to the savants in the Mu-
seum at Alexandria, and in turn
answered those they presented
to him.

Let me note that Suetonius says
thatthe Emperor Claudius added
a second Museum to the origi-
nal one and ordered that certain
books be read there every day,
and

120 A Brief History
I close,
O Most Illustrious Ruler,
with the wish that you, a de-
scendant of great men and born
to do great things, may long
continue in that work, worthy of
the highest praise, which you
have already begun, — the work
of encouraging the produftion
of books and the cultivation of
the liberal arts among men, and
so make your name for all time
revered.

Of Libraries 121
To you, John Moretus, be-
cause of the friendship which has
bound together for now these
many years you and our Plantin
— alas, now no more! — and all
his family and myself, — to you,
I say, I entrust the printing and
the publishing of this my Out-
line OF THE History of Li-
braries; to you and to no one
else. And this my wish and will
I thus declare in accordance with
the law laid down by the great
Emperor and the Kings.

JUSTUS LIPSIUS

LITERATURE OF LIBRARIES

SEVENTEENTH AND EIGHTEENTH
CENTURIES

Edited by John Cotton Dana, Librarian of the
Free Public Library ^ Neivark, Neiv Jersey; and
Henry W. Kent, Librarian of the Grolicr Club^
New York City.
I.COTTON DES HOUSSAYES, JEAN BAPTISTE

(1727-1785).

Concerning the Duties and Qualifications of a Libra-
rian (Des Devoirs et de Qualities du Bibliothecaire).

2.DURY, JOHN (DURIE) (1596-1680).
The Reformed Libraric-Kceper. London, 1650.

j.KIRKWOOD, REV. JAMES (1650? -1708).
An Overture for founding and maintaining of Biblio-
thecks in every Paroch throughout this Kingdom. [Edin-
burgh], 1699.

4.BODLEY, SIR THOMAS (1545-1613).
Life, written by himself, 1609 5 with his First Draught
of the Statutes of the Public Library at Oxford. (From
Reliquiae Bodleianae, 1703.)

5.LIPSIUS, JUSTUS (1547-1606).
Do Bibliothecis Syntagma. Antwerp, 1602. Translated
into English for this series.

6.NAUDE, GABRIEL (1600-1653).
News from France ; or, A Description of the Library of
Cardinal Mazarini (London, 1652), and, The Surrender of
the Library of Cardinal Mazarin.

250 copies on small paper, 6 -vols., $12.00 per set.
25 copies on large paper, 6 vols., $25.00 per set.

A. C. MCCLURG & CO. PUBLISHERS
CHICAGO

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